University of Milan suspends exchange agreement with Israeli university

ROME

The University of Milan has suspended an agreement with Israel’s Reichman University on an exchange of students and researchers after its rector, Marina Brambilla, met with a delegation of Palestinian students who had been pressing for a boycott of relations with Israeli universities, reports said Tuesday.

The university’s administration cited the worsening situation in the Middle East for suspending the agreement, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Student associations defined the move as a "victory,” saying it was reached as a result of strong pressure from students and faculty members.

Earlier this year, the University of Milan suspended an agreement with another Israeli institution, Ariel University, and pledged not to renew it following student mobilizations.

Following the example of many other students across the Western world, the university students launched an encampment at the campus earlier this year to protest Israel’s attacks on Gaza and ties with Israeli education institutions.

The Israeli army has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 42,700 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 100,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has displaced almost the entire population of the enclave amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.